Furniture bank for refugees could disappear without new home
UPDATE: On March 20, House to Dwelling acquired its landlord will permit it to continue to be in its location on Ridgewood Avenue till the spring of 2024.
An Ottawa business that supplies asylum seekers with free, gently used housing essentials is getting rid of its warehouse this spring. The founder suggests a new house is needed or it could close for superior.
Suzi Shore Sauvé started out Household to Property in the slide of 2020 out of her garage and claimed she has since helped about 500 refugee households get settled in their new houses.
Sauvé currently stores countless numbers of donated items — from rolling pins to toasters and couches — at the old Region Grocer on Ridgewood Avenue in close proximity to Mooney’s Bay.
The construction corporation that owns the building and donates the house to Sauvé designs to redevelop the property and requested Residence to Dwelling to go away this spring, she reported.
“We’re trying to thrust it as extensive as we can,” she said. “We genuinely want [a] new house so we can provide the next 500 people.”
Household to Home runs on donations and Sauve’s own resources. Though refugees are not billed for the services, people who donate home furniture are requested to go over any delivery prices.
Furnishings for one bedroom, for case in point, charges $275 to donate. People today can get in touch with Sauvé and drop off items in person for no cost.
When refugees will need things, they can ebook an appointment and choose the matters they need.
Asad Rahimi came to Canada from Afghanistan a yr and a 50 % back and now performs at Household to Residence with two other refugees. He estimates the team saved his family on your own up to $6,000.
“That is not just me, which is each refugee saving from here,” he claimed.
“They’re getting their kitchen, their mattresses, their sofas, eating set, microwave, iron, at times we’re providing manufacturer new things.”
When CBC toured the repurposed grocery keep final week, just about every aisle was packed to the rafters with location configurations, children’s toys, pics, toss pillows and many other goods that finish a household.
Each individual aisle was arranged and focused to a different portion of the house.
After beginning House to House, Sauvé said she immediately recognized the want for emergency household furniture for refugees in Ottawa. Some would usually go months sleeping on the floor when waiting for beds, she claimed.
“Our only demographic is refugees,” she said. “We’re that spot that can make absolutely sure they have their household furniture quickly.”
Property to Home requirements a house that’s at minimum 10,000 sq. ft (close to 900 sq. metres) with warmth, working washrooms, parking and a door large plenty of for loading and unloading home furnishings, explained Sauvé.
As of Tuesday, the corporation had no provides for a new house.
